Warmshowers: What's your recent experience hosting or guesting?

[stevey]

We're about to take the plunge into Warmshowers, as both hosts and guests, and would love to hear your recent experience doing either, especially in the past year.
Until now, we've always camped or stayed at lodging recommended on the ACA maps on our cross-country tours. There seems to have been some debate about WS a few years ago, but the most recent dedicated post about WS that search finds on this forum is 3 years old.
Thanks much.

[John Nettles]

WarmShowers, in my opinion, has not changed (for better or worse) in the past few years.  I am a long-time host and an occasional guest.  The people are the same and the same issues (people use but don't host, don't reply to requests, etc.) still exist but overall if you are diligent about replying to notifications, it is fine.  I am still not a fan at all of the unresponsive administration which gets paid relatively a lot for very little work. 
That said, I recommend it overall because I enjoy meeting other touring cyclists.  The big thing is to review the feedback carefully for any clues where people do not want to say things negative about someone.  Also, be sure to spell out any expectations you have in your profile, i.e. X+ hours notice, you will/will not provide meals, smoking, pets, dietary conditions, etc. so everyone knows what to expect.  For instance, one of the first guests we had was fairly allergic to cats but we did not mention our cats in our profile.  Upon learning about the cats, he was going to have to leave.  Luckily, we got another cycling buddy to host him for the night and we promptly updated our profile. Finally, remember you are not obligated to host if you do not feel it is right or the time is not good.

Tailwinds, John

[stevey]

Thanks, John. This is helpful.

[Ty0604]

I absolutely LOVE WarmShowers. I don’t use it much anymore as I much prefer to be alone after a long day of riding but it’s so much more useful than just looking for a place to stay! I’ve messaged folks to get route information, recommendations on LBS’s, places to eat and a few times to catch a jump when highway construction or road closures made riding impossible. Once I used it for a jump to get ahead of an incoming hurricane. I’ve definitely been hosted more than I’ve hosted but only because I don’t live in an area where my tourist come through. Look at their reply rate and when they last logged in. Sometimes they have their cell phone number listed so I’ll text them instead of sending a message through the app.